Producing a powerful sound, experience how the versatile 514ce responds to your style of playing. The pairing of mahogany back and sides with a cedar top yields a tone with a strong, clear midrange presence, while the cedar top adds warmth and a bit of overtone bloom that suggests an older, played-in guitar. The cutaway Grand Auditorium 514ce is a perennial favorite with singer-songwriters and light-to-medium strummers.

Taylor 514ce Grand Auditorium Guitar Features

Grand auditorium body

Venetian cutaway

Taylor’s Expression System 2 electronics

Ebony fretboard

Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown case included

Appointments include faux tortoise shell binding and pickguard, a rosette of faux tortoise shell framed by grained ivoroid, and a grained ivoroid Century fretboard inlay. A Venetian cutaway offers greater access to the guitar’s upper register, while Taylor’s patented Expression System 2 pickup translates the sonic warmth and detail into a natural-sounding amplified tone.

Expression System® 2
The Taylor Expression System® 2 (ES2) is a revolutionary pickup design that delivers the latest in Taylor’s ongoing innovation in acoustic guitar amplification. The heart of the Expression System 2 is Taylor’s patented behind-the-saddle pickup, which features three uniquely positioned and individually calibrated pickup sensors. The location of the sensors enables a more dynamic range of acoustic sound to be captured than ever before. Together with Taylor’s custom-designed “professional audio”-grade preamp, this system produces exceptional amplified tone and responsiveness. On stage through a PA, plugged into your favorite acoustic amplifier, or direct into recording software, the Expression System 2 faithfully conveys the voice of your Taylor guitar.

Behind the ES2 Design: Rethinking the Piezo Pickup
For decades, piezo-electric transducers have been positioned under the saddle of a guitar based on the long-held belief that the string and top vibration cause the saddle to “bounce” up and down. But Taylor’s electronics team, led by developer David Hosler, discovered that the vertical movement is actually heavily restricted, and that the saddle gets “locked down” due to the string tension’s downward pressure. That’s why a traditional under-saddle pickup with piezo-electric crystals often responds with a sound often characterized as thin, brittle, brash or synthetic, especially with more aggressive playing.

The saddle’s natural range of movement as the guitar is being played is actually back and forth like a pendulum. That revelation led Taylor’s design team to relocate the crystals from under the saddle to behind it. The new positioning enables the crystals to respond more naturally to the guitar’s energy as it is transferred through the saddle. Three pickup sensors are installed behind the saddle, through the bridge, with three tiny Allen screws that calibrate the position of the sensors in relation to the saddle.

Like the original Expression System, the ES2 features the same volume and tone control knobs. The preamp is similar but with a slightly different gain structure. As a result it will be about 25 percent hotter, which is more in line with other pickups. This makes it plug-and-play friendly both for artists and live sound mixers.

Product Specifications

Taylor 514ce Grand Auditorium A/E Guitar Specifications

Body: Grand Auditorium

Binding: Tortoise

Top Finish: Gloss

Neck Width: 1 3/4”

Fretboard: Ebony

Fretboard Inlay: Century

Scale Length: 25-1/2"

Nut and Saddle: Tusq Nut/Micarta Saddle

Bracing: Performance with Relief Rout

Electronics: Expression System 2

Pickguard: Tortoise

Number of Frets: 20

Tuners: Taylor Nickel

Case: Taylor Deluxe Hardshell Brown case

Brand of Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze HD Light

Helpful Info about the Manufacturer

Phone:800-943-6782 Warranty:Limited Lifetime on new guitars; No warranty on Dent and Scratch Guitars

12 Payments! Ltd Time!No Special Credit Card Application - 0% Interest! If your order is between $999.00 and $4000, your credit card will be billed in 12 equal payments, every 31 days, starting on the day your order is shipped. 12 Payment plan will need credit approval..

What started as a simple string and pedal sales catalog has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. The early days were a time where catalogs didn't have much of a presence in the industry, but what began as a college dorm room operation grew rapidly. In 1986 we moved to a full product offering and 64-page catalog, which over the years has grown to 162 pages. Join the AMS family and get your free catalog now!